well across the country and here in New Jersey election officials are reporting record turnout and that means there may be delays in tallying the outcomes election day isn't necessarily results day anymore a situation that further fuels unsupported claims and conspiracy theories sewing down over the legitimacy of the election process County clerks have been preparing for potential hiccups and misinformation that may come with it as we enter the home stretch of this election cycle Raven Santana checked in to see how they're keeping your vote [Music] secure Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi's phone hasn't stopped ringing with just hours before polls close she says the most popular calls are from parents whose children may not have received their vote by mail ballot and they're concerned about that Rajoppi is just one of 21 County clerks in the Garden State that have been working around the clock to prepare for what she says is a historic turnout today New Jersey's 9-day early voting period that ended Sunday brought in nearly 1.2 million people who voted in person that doesn't include vote by mail ballots Rajoppi says that early momentum carried over into election day usually the peak for in-person voting happens at dinner time and after dinner but today there was a big increase we saw people standing in line at 5:30 half an hour before the polls opened so people are very anxious to vote still while the biggest decision for most voters this election will be deciding who will become the next president the biggest question throughout this campaign cycle for some has been election security which is why Rajoppi says having a federal monitor president was important we don't want people ever to be disenfranchise not have the opportunity to vote so we have for example judges on call all day today beginning from this morning till 8:00 tonight that we'll hear petitions from people who perhaps have been turned away from the polling place after 2020 and the events that took place at the US capital on January 6th 2021 protecting voters at the polls and certifying election results are top of mind for many in New Jersey and Beyond which is why lieutenant governor and Secretary of State Tahesha Way says while transparency is key so is patience early in records has definitely been shattered the good thing about New Jersey is that they now the counties on their websites will also share details about the number of voting machines and Equipment deployed across every early voting and election day polling site and they will also share the number of mail-in ballots issued and received into our Statewide voter registration uh system and Jersey is proving to stay on on top of all Bad actors after two women in Middlesex County were charged with voter fraud a 58-year-old from Parlin and a 57-year-old from Monroe have been charged with attempting to vote on behalf of a deceased family member both face third degree charges as of today over 40% of our voters have already cast The Ballot hunterton County Clerk Mary Melfi says election security has been critical especially when it comes to non-citizens Melfi says she pushed for stronger safeguards placed specifically at the DMV the non-citizens registering to vote um I am aware that that's happening through division a motor vehicle I don't think I don't think it's happening nefariously I think it's happening as an accident and that type of a situation can challenge their right to go for citizenship today in-person voting Remains the biggest challenge as long lines are expected in Mammoth County County that's why Monmouth County Clerk Christine Hanlon says the county made sure to push early voting on multiple platforms to eliminate long lines on Election Day because we wanted people to vote by mail in advance go to the polls in advance so that on Election Day we wouldn't have 400,000 people coming out while Rajoppi says she could see unofficial results come in sometime between 10:30 and 11:00 p.m. election officials ask for your patience as it could take days before we know the results of the US presidential election for NJ Spotlight news I'm Raven Santana [Music]